Most homes include at least one electrical outlet that provides the electricity necessary to operate household appliances, television sets, computers, etc. The standard electrical outlet in the United States includes two vertical slots and a round hole centered below these two slots. The left vertical slot is the “neutral” slot and is slightly larger than the right vertical slot which is the “hot” slot. The hole below the two slots is designated as “ground.”
Each of these electrical outlets is connected to the home's circuit breaker by a wire. The circuit breaker is a safety feature that cuts off the power supply to the electrical outlet when the current flow rises above a certain threshold. For example, if a wire is placed in the hot slot and the neutral slot, there would be a tremendous amount of current flowing through the wire. The circuit breaker would detect this surge and cut off the power supply to the electrical outlet in order to prevent a fire or other harmful effects. However, until the flow of current passes this threshold, the electrical outlet has a constant supply of power.
The electricity provided at the electrical outlet does not begin to flow until there is a completed connection from the hot slot to the neutral slot. For example, when a household appliance, such as a vacuum, is plugged into the electrical outlet, the connection is completed. The electricity flows from the hot slot, through the vacuum to run the motor, and back to the neutral slot. A further example may include a light bulb that is plugged into the outlet. The electricity will flow from the hot slot, through the filament, and back to the neutral slot, creating light in the process.
Power consumption by various devices can become a substantial expense for individuals and businesses. Lights may be left on in an unoccupied room, inefficient heaters may consume more power than necessary, etc. Similarly, many individuals forget to turn off appliances when they are finished using them. These appliances continue to consume power when they are left unattended. Further, current electrical systems also cause inconveniences when they shutdown entire circuits due to overload. Power outages can even cause damage to computer systems and other electrical equipment.
Almost all parents of young children have at some point worried about their child's safety around electrical outlets in the home. The outlets are usually installed at a height at or near a child's eye level, and a child's curiosity draws them to explore. A child may insert an object into the slots of the outlet and complete the connection between the hot slot and the neutral slot. Electricity may then flow through the child. The results of electrocution from these electrical outlets can be fatal. Many of the home electrocution and shock injuries involve unsupervised children. There are a few protective measures currently available in the art that can be taken to avoid injury or death to a child.
The most common protective measure is a plastic outlet protector. The plastic protector includes two prongs that fit directly into the outlet slots, preventing the insertion of foreign objects. However, these plastic plug inserts are inconvenient for several reasons. They are hard to put in and pull out (by design). When someone wants to plug something into the electrical outlet they typically leave the plug insert lying around somewhere close to the outlet, like on the floor nearby, where it now turns into a choking hazard. The plastic inserts are also easy to misplace. Some toddler age children may also discover how to remove these plastic protectors themselves.
Based upon the current disadvantages and problems with current electrical systems in the art, it would be beneficial if improvements were made to provide improved methods of power consumption, improved safety measures, and improved convenience practices to individuals and businesses. Specifically, it would be beneficial to only provide power to the electrical outlets and the devices connected to the electrical outlets under desirable circumstances.